Ball point pens are normally held in the same relationship to the writer's hand at each time they are used. The pressure of the writer's hand causes the ball to wear the top of the nib until a gap is formed between the ball and the side of the ball holder. Ink will leak through the gap into the pocket of the wearer. Further, the ball can get hung up on a corner when the wear of the nib is excessive. This freezes the ball, keeping it from rotating and picking up ink, thus rendering the pen useless.
I have invented a mechanism for use on any ordinary plunger type ball point pen which rotates the cartridge and ball holder each time the point is projected into the writing position. This mechanism has the further advantage of increasing the useful life of each refill by a factor of three. Project-retract mechanisms for ball-point pens to which this invention is applicable are well known in the art as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,137,276 and 3,652,173.